Exterior Lighting Problems of Acura MDX - part 1

Check engine light continues to come on after repair, lack of power and transmission skip at times. Reverse light dark, unable to see at all.

See all problems of the 2011 Acura MDX 🔎.

There is moisture and water droplets inside outer left taillight.

See all problems of the 2020 Acura MDX 🔎.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura Mdx. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 25v259000 (exterior lighting, interior lighting); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

This specific vehicle has an issue with the starter and flywheel breaking up for no reason. After being replaced twice, they were broken again in three months. The suspension has also been broken many times, and even after replacing the entire four sides, it still did not fix the problem. It also produces a rubber smell when driven over than 1 hour non stop.

See all problems of the 2016 Acura MDX 🔎.

•make: Acura •model: Mdx •year: 2018 •VIN: [xxx] •mileage: 80,594 (as of March 22, 2025) complaint type: vehicle component/recall reoccurrence component affected: exterior lighting – taillights summary of problem: I am filing a complaint regarding a recurring safety issue involving my 2018 Acura Mdx’s taillight assembly, which was previously the subject of a recall. In 2019, the left taillight was repaired under a manufacturer recall related to water intrusion that caused lighting failure. On March 22, 2025, during a routine visit to Acura of boston (bernardi Acura), it was determined that the same taillight assembly had failed again due to signs of water intrusion, causing the light to malfunction. The dealership estimated a cost of $805. 82 for the replacement. I contacted Honda and requested goodwill assistance since this issue was previously addressed as a safety recall, but they denied my request due to warranty expiration—even though this is clearly a recurrence of the original defect. This poses a potential safety hazard, as taillight failure can impair visibility and increase the risk of rear-end collisions, especially in low-light conditions. The fact that the exact issue has returned after an official recall fix raises concerns about the long-term effectiveness of the original repair. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether this issue is affecting other 2018 Acura Mdx vehicles and whether an extended recall or follow-up campaign should be considered. Dealership details: •service date: March 22, 2025 •dealer: Acura of boston, 1600 soldiers field rd, brighton, MA •original recall repair: prime Acura of westwood (2019) attachments available upon request: service estimate, VIN, dealer findings, and photos. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2018 Acura MDX 🔎.

The contact owns a 2015 Acura Mdx. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the tailgate lid lights did not function as intended. The contact was pulled over by the local police and was informed that the taillights were not operating. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with failed tailgate lid lights. The contact was informed that the tailgate lid lights needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was advised that the manufacturer had denied the repair under warranty or unknown recall repairs. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously serviced by the dealer, and the previous dealer performed a recall repair under NHTSA campaign number: 19v256000(exterior lighting); however, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The manufacturer denied the repair under warranty because of the failed recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 185,000.

See all problems of the 2015 Acura MDX 🔎.

The headlight assemblies to my vehicle have become defective. The headlight assembly, both right and left, has moisture intrusion within the headlight assembly, creating condensation build-up inside the housing. This issue also caused the headlights to become white and hazy in appearance. I was advised by the dealer that this would lead to failure with the lighting and would have to be replaced. I purchased a certified used vehicle with tustin Acura in August of 2022 and also purchased an extended warranty for piece of mind. In the 2 1/2 years that I have owned the vehicle, I have added about 25k miles and have always garaged the vehicle. When the issue was reviewed by the dealer, they refused to cover the problem under warranty and requested that I reach out to american Honda for further assistance. I did that but was denied and told the issue was caused by "outside influence," but provided no explanation as to what this meant. To me it felt like I was being blamed for clearly a defective issue. A google search of this issues revealed to me that this was a common issue with 2019 Acura Mdx vehicles. To replace the headlights would be a cost to me of nearly $3,000. It seems almost ridiculous to pay for clearly defective equipment. I fear that my inability to afford this great expense with lead to headlight failure that could result in a collision if this failure were to occur at night.

See all problems of the 2019 Acura MDX 🔎.

My vehicle has a battery issue, we replaced the battery twice in two years still the issue might happened again and again. Once the battery start draining energy, everything start blinking and car stops all of a sudden in the middle of the road because of brake assistance problem. All the system errors come up. It is very scary to drive the vehicle with my kids inside. All system in car works with battery. Service center told me that this kind of cars needs bigger battery and company only put small batteries in the car. Company don’t put warranty on battery if it is replaced under car warranty. My car is only 33 months old and I have to change battery twice, it might happen again. Please help me to resolve the problem. It looks like factory problem that company do not make sufficient batteries to satisfy the vehicle needs. I have attached the pictures of safety lights.

See all problems of the 2022 Acura MDX 🔎.

Rear inner tail light on driver side is not working (34155-tz5-h03). There is active recall on models between 2014-2019 but when checked my VIN it shows it is not covered. I went through the detail of recall and it can be clearly seen that the damage is same as shown in the recall. I will appreciate if someone can provide how do we know that my VIN was not impacted as there could be subcomponent which could have led to same issues as others from this period. I will appreciate if a prompt action can be taken and my vehicle can be added to the recall list as well. Thanks!.

The contact owns a 2014 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that while approaching the vehicle after the vehicle had been started, the contact noticed that the taillights were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the taillights assemblies needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred approximately two months later. The contact received an email notification of NHTSA campaign number: 25v259000 (exterior lighting, interior lighting), which the contact related to the failure; however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 99,000.

See all problems of the 2014 Acura MDX 🔎.

For the last 50k miles we've taken our Acura Mdx to the dealership for regular oil changes. Almost every visit results in a bad battery. We've had the dealership replace a side mirror due to the electrical and several batteries as well. They've kept it for several days diagnosing issues but haven't to this day found out what's wrong with it. Now my back taillight stopped working, we bought another one and replaced it for it to work for a couple months and stop working again. Now we've taken it to another place for diagnosing, they have said the inter taillight assembly and wiring needs replaced. Seems like this has been the issue the entire 6 yrs we've been complaining. The dealership says they took care of the problem already, clearly this is a safety issue when driving at night especially. Having a taillight that works off and on is not my idea of safe or "fixed" according to the dealership.

Recall (m49) moisture may enter the tailgate lid lights, possibly causing a loss of the tailgate lid lights and the taillights. Acura dealership confirmed repair back in 2019. I am currently having the same issue with the loss of my taillight. I raised concern with Acura and they confirmed that they release me part number that they didn’t use for the initial repair, which leads me to believe this issue was never fixed. The dealership then told me that they would not be able to repair this issue unless I had an extended warranty. I am requesting a review as this is a major safety issue and a traffic citation concern on the same grounds that the m49 recall was initiated.

I just got this car in September and it is now throwing all kinds of different codes to the point where I can’t drive it sh-awd /check charging station / emission light etc.

See all problems of the 2009 Acura MDX 🔎.

The contact owns a 2016 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that the driver's side rear taillight bulb had burned out. The contact replaced the bulb, but the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the driver's side rear taillight failure was intermittent but was a persistent failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the failure and determined that there was water inside the taillight assembly which caused the bulb to short circuit. The mechanic informed the contact that the taillight assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 25v259000 (exterior lighting, interior lighting); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 141,000.

The contact owns a 2019 Acura Mdx. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the rear tailgate lid light failed to illuminate as designed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the rear tailgate lid lighting assembly was faulty due to water intrusion and that the assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 19v256000 (exterior lighting). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 98,000.

Left rear inner tail light is inoperative. There is evidence of water intrusion in the lower left corner of the tail light assembly. Called dealer, was told by service manager that the concern was not covered under warranty as the vehicle has just over 51,000 miles. Called Acura care and was told same. 2014-2019 models of this vehicle were recalled for this issue, but not the 2020 models, although they are the same body style and share same tail light part number. The lights are led and have no replaceable bulbs; entire assembly must be replaced.

The contact owns a 2019 Acura Mdx. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 19v256000 (exterior lighting). The dealer was made aware of the issue, but the service manager initially refused to perform the recall repair free of charge due to the vehicle's salvage title. However, after the contact threatened to report the dealer, the dealer complied and repaired the vehicle free of charge under NHTSA campaign number: 19v256000 (exterior lighting). The manufacturer was made aware of the issue with the dealer. The contact had not experienced a failure.

Passenger rear, right inner tail light is not working. Was under recall but Acura is not replacing it. Obviously water has entered it and shorted it out. They said the recall was completed on it but why is the taillight not working. In report made by the dealer it says it is shorted after hooking it up to a voltmeter. Why are they not replacing it. It reduces visibility to the rear of the car.

The back inner tail light on my car is not working, which is the following recall, however, according to Acura, my VIN does not apply and does not show a recall. I believe this is an error since I am having the exact issue and my VIN should be included in this recall. Nhtsa recall number:19v-256 mfr campaign id:m49 campaign description:2014-19 Mdx tailgate inner taillight safety recall recall date:03/28/2019 recall status:17 character VIN required.

Tail lights (rear running lights) don’t work, when break light and turn lights work.

Nhtsa recal #19v-256 so according to Acura, this vehicle had the tail lights replaced in 2019 but the tail lights broke again in 2023. How do we know if Acura just replaced with same oem tail lights but didn't fix the problematic tail lights. These lights are not a simple bulb replacement, it is costly in $600/ea range to replace whole assembly.

See all problems of the 2017 Acura MDX 🔎.

2011 Acura Mdx engine oil leak from pan. Oil change and dip stick completely dry after 2 days. Many complaints of this common issue on 2011-2013 Acura Mdx and no recall. Reverse lights not set properly when going in reverse it's remains dark and hard to see.

My vehicle has been going off on its own when it is off, the lights starts to flicker on the outside and on the dashboard, the seats malfunction on its own so does the steering wheel causing the steering wheel to move up and down adjusting on its own, the car alarm will go off all the time, and I hear a noise coming from under the hood. It’s so bad that I have to take out the battery and leave it cause this problem will continue until the battery is dead, sometimes it will cause all the lights to come on and stay on all night, mean while the vehicle is not even turned on when all this is happening, I search couple video and websites only to see other people having the same problem with this specific type of vehicle, this problem been consistent for months and it makes the car unable to drive.

On my 2020 Mdx the rear tail light is filling with moisture and water causing the tail light to fail. There is already a recall from Acura for 2014-2019 Mdx for the same issue. Apparently Acura did not correct the issue for the 2020 models which uses the same part and did not address the issue. Acura needs to include the 2020 Mdx as part of this recall as well. This is a safety as if the light fail can cause a serious accident.

Back left inner tail light assembly strip and right outer led strip tail light assembly damaged by water moisturizer getting inside of them.

The rear tail lights stopped working completely due to manufacturing defect of rear tail lights causing electric short circuit by moisture . Defective tail lights safety recall was performed in August 2021 by dennisville Acura. The rear tail lights stopped working again due to same issue. Took to the dealer davis Acura on 17 Feb 2022 to perform the safety recall again and dealer refused to perform the repair to fix the safety recall issue. I want to file a complaint against Honda of na and davis Acura of langhorne for refusing to perform safety recall on a vehicle with safety recall issue.

Brake light is not working properly, I was pulled over with a warning.

The outside rear taillight was full of water. I discovered this when going to replace bulbs I thought were just burned out. In fact one of the bulbs was shattered I presume from the water reaching the hot light. The taillight is non functional and I will have to take it to be repaired/replaced. I should not have to pay for what is very clearly an manufacturer defect that compromises safe vehicle operations. Acura did a recall for the interior tail light for this same issue, but did not include the outer taillight. A simple google search shows this is not an isolated incident but rather a major problem.

Water has entered inner tail light causing it to stop working.

Inner taillight on passenger side of vehicle not working. According to an independent service center, there is a faulty seal and water/moisture in inner taillight housing.

The radio and navigation intermittently go on and off while driving. My abs,check emission system,shaw-d will go off. Car will shut down while im driving and I lose all power. I lose power to locks, windows and back hatch. Some days when starting the car it wont turn over and start up. Somedays after driving and I turn the car off, I lose all power. While driving the car will jump into gear as I am accelerating.

See all problems of the 2007 Acura MDX 🔎.

Vehicle acceleration is sluggish at stop and go. During highway speed, if transmission is in low cruising gear and you need to accelerate, transmission is sluggish. Issues was corrected at dealer. Dealer found 1 faulty transmission computer code. New symptoms after computer fix, over acceleration and harsh shift points. Dealer advised to drive 500 mile after computer reflash. Interior light do not dim after a few seconds. Interior lights will not turn off regardless of locking vehicle. Rear suspension has a 0. 55� camber difference, vehicle has 26,765 miles. I asked dealership service to look at this issue. Dealer never advised on issues.

Drivers side rear taillight on quarter panel. Seals failed and filled with water rendering driving light to malfunction. Told dealer about problem and they said recall only affected inner rear hatch lights. Car is garaged its whole life. Clearly a manufacturing defect. Must have happened much previously than noticed at dealer.

The driver side head lights are brighter than the passenger side head lights. I get bright lighted all the time. It looks like my bright lights are on and their not. The from air conditioning / heat fan works off and on. The blower is acting up. The back heat fan ( blower) works all the time. I have to crack the front windows and fly down the highway to get the front fan to work.

Backup camera has extremely poor performance in low light or night time settings if there is no other ambient light like street lights. Reverse lights are not sufficient to be able to see obstacles or dangers in the backup monitor. Body panels produce a blind spot requiring the backup camera to see behind you. The backup camera has shifted angle slightly causing the markings intended to allow backup into parking spaces to be off center and guide the vehicle to an inappropriate parking angle. This low light performance issue has been known to owners for some time, in light of Acura's new recall related to backup cameras this warrants investigation as well.

See all problems of the 2013 Acura MDX 🔎.